In the first year of study, Ph.D. students are expected to take two core graduate-level courses per quarter, including the courses required for the Ph.D. degree (210, 212, 214, 215, 216, 219) and other courses specific to the student’s field of interest. All first-year students also take 205, Introduction to Research. All graduate students also attend a weekly colloquium, 292. Each student has a faculty adviser who helps to determine which courses are most appropriate, taking into account the student’s background and interests. The student-faculty ratio is low so that M.S. and Ph.D. students can work closely with faculty and pursue programs that fit their individual needs.  After passing a written qualifying examination, Ph.D. students pursue independent research leading to an oral examination and completion of a doctoral dissertation.

Students may obtain a master’s degree through course work (eight physics graduate courses) and submission of an approved thesis. The thesis may be waived by passing four sections of the written Ph.D. qualifying examination. Master’s candidates are encouraged to write a research thesis and may do so in any of the research fields in the program, thereby developing laboratory and computational skills in areas such as electronics design, computer simulation and visualization, cryogenics, X-ray scattering, complex novel materials and devices, or materials science. Each M.S. student is assigned a faculty adviser who helps to design a course work plan suited to the interests of the student.